Choose one issue we've discussed or you've read about this semester that has provoked a passionate response from you (i.e. something about which you've felt strongly). Then identify someone with the power to take action on that issue (a lawmaker, for instance- be sure to think about whether this is a local, state, national, or international issue when making that identification).
Write either a letter to the editor (a statement of opinion that would be printed in a newspaper or magazine; tips and guidelines can be found here: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/effective_letters_editor/ ) or a letter to a lawmaker (tips: http://www.nea.org/home/19657.htm) expressing your opinion and encouraging the action you would like to see taken with regards to the issue.
Submit a copy of your letter as a reply to this thread, and also strongly consider actually submitting it to the paper/sending it to your lawmaker. YOUR VOICE CAN CREATE CHANGE...SO WHY NOT USE IT?!?!? :)
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Lego, Cav (the Lego brand name was derived from the Danish expression "leg godt" - play well - and lego also translates in Latin as "I study" or "I put together"...really, one of the world's most perfect words!)
TOPIC: WOMEN AND CHILDREN BEING DEPORTED AND STOPPED FROM ENTERING THE UNITED STATES.
Dear Ed Royce,
The problem of women and children being deported and stopped from entering the United States, needs to be addressed. These innocent people are simply trying seek safety and a better life for their families by entering our wonderful country. Every one deserves the right to freedom and to feel safe. It is not fair that they are being denied this basic right. Along with taking the risk of crossing the border, comes violence and harsh punishment if they get caught. I think this is completely unjust. I am writing to you to help compose a law or fight for a piece of legislation that prevents these people from being stopped and experiencing harsh punishments.
To the nation,
We live in a world of people who are homeless due from the losses of jobs, deaths of a loved one, or a disability. I believe that these people who deal with those tragedies should receive special care and get more attention than what they have right now. I know that our community has some homeless shelters, but I don't think people are informed with where they are located. Citizens who have a soft spot for the homeless should make a stand and make more advertisements for gatherings to help those in need. Although this would cost time and money, in the long run this can help change homeless peoples lives for better. Overall, I am saying that instead of passing by a homeless person walking down the street, we should take our time to respect them as individuals and get them the care that they need.
Sincerely, Baillie Carberry
i understand that there are many current issues that press the nation but of all of them the one that scares me the most is the Iraqi nuclear program. i find it very dis-hardening that we will negotiation with a nation the chants death to america. i know that diplomatic relations are week between the us and Iraq but i would really appreciate it if you were to put in a word to the national defense committee that it is very concerning that we can allow an unstable nation in a unstable geopolitical area have a weapon capable of leveling an entire city. just give it a thought.
Dear Police Force,
I am a highschool senior living in California with some ideas for you. In response to the several incidents that have occurred in the past year, I believe it is necessary that you make severe changes to your conduct. I believe that the police need to be instructed more on how to approach potentially life threatening encounters. I have a friend who recently went through police training and knows the ins and outs of how to act in each situation. However, I have seen that that is not the case in many cities across the nation. The police need to be monitored on their procedures and prevented from such actions like rough rides. The police force demands some of the highest training and the most difficult work but I feel that the nation isnt doing enough to guarantee that only the best, most trained, and most suited for the job are out keeping the people safe. These incidents are a sign that change is necessary and the sooner these changes are made the safer the nation will be. Many of these incidents could have been potentially avoided if more emphasis was placed on police conduct. I hope you will make the necessary decisions for the embetterment of this country.
Thank You,
Christopher Wung
It is not right to refuse service to people based on their personal qualities. The government needs to be fair to everyone because everyone is equal. This bill will only reverse our progress. The gay community needs to feel welcomed as well and a part of the country of freedom. State and Religion are separate- that is the bottom line. It is unconstitutional to enforce rules based on a religious bias.
Lets take the bakery refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple as an example. Because of their religion, they believe being gay is a sin. They also believe that divorce is a sin, yet they agree to make a cake for people on their second marriage. Most religions glorify the fact to love everyone and treat others kindly- so why single out the gay community and allow them to be the one exception?
Being professional with their work, businesses need to be willing to serve anyone. Yes, I do understand store owners have their rights as well and have the freedom to set their own rules. However this is just the Civil Rights Movement over again. People need to move forward from discrimination and see people as just people.
Peoples race or sexual preference has no effect on others, it should not be a threat. Religion and state are separate so there is no need for this bill. Yes, people can stand by their religious views, the First Amendment states that. However, when it does more bad than good and people are being discriminated against, thats when there needs to be an explanation and a proper solution.
I ask you, please review the quality of this bill. The gay community has their rights as well. A main reason for learning history is to learn from mistakes so they dont happen again. We have to fix the problem at its source and not pass this bill.
I am a senior in a high school in Placentia, California, and during my time at school, I attended a class where we got together and talked about issues that have been occurring the the world. One of the topics that I feel should be fixed is police brutality. In the recent months there have a lot of police brutality cases that have come up on the news. We need to find a solution that would be beneficial to not only the citizens but also the officers.
We really need to prevent the problem of shallow water blackout drowning. This is a big issue for little kids and even adults that can't swim. People have to be able to know the signs of under water blackout such as the breathing signs. Without a proper and quick rescue the person could die in a matter of minutes. I think there needs to be training for this situation. Life guards need to be aware of this growing problem. This can happen to any type of person to the most talented of swimmer such as Fran Crippen, and to the youngest of swimmers. This needs to be fixed soon to prevent this from happening.
I believe that Colorado should stop selling marijuana legally to its citizens. Marijuana has short term and long term effects to people and their bodies. If it is not legal in all states then why should it be legal in Colorado or Alaska? We need to protect the citizens of the United States as a whole nation.
Some short terms effects of marijuana are altering of the senses, changes in mood, and impaired memory. When people smoke it, they could be doing things that they are unaware they are doing and have serious consequences from it. Long term effects are problems with brain development, breathing problems, and increased heart rate. All these things affect a persons ability to interact with people or even get a job to take care of the medical issues they will have.
Another issue with selling marijuana legally is that it is easier for young teenagers to get it. They can have an older sibling or friend buy them some. There has been an increase in the amount of middle school and high school students that smoke marijuana. We need to lower this number by stopping the sell of marijuana legally.
This year there have been a lot of racial tensions in our country. I feel as if our country has been drifting from what we all truly believe in, equality. Gaining equality for every American is a task that we must accomplish but even more than that we need to learn to love each other.
I want to urge you to have a national love day. Love is a powerful thing and if we all learn to love each other I think our country and my community would be better for it. If everyone learn to love each other race would be a thing of the past. No one would care what your skin color is if you love me and I love you equally. If people would learn to love problems like domestic violence, racial inequality, bullying, rap would all be things of the past. These things would disappear because love and break through boundaries like these.
I want to go back to my original urge and ask you to put together some sort of love day or love parade. I feel if we can spread love to everyone that our country will prosper!
Human Rights Watch report parents of U.S. citizen children are nearly twice as likely to be processed under a previous deportation order and 1.35 times more likely to be charged with illegal entry or illegal re-entry than non parents. Very few of these parents are able to plead their case before a judge before being deported. I believe the families of these illegal parents should always be considered before deportation.
Not is it only good for parents to be able to stay with their children, but by allowing them to stay you are preventing more crime. Some may even argue that someone can be a felon simply by trying to rejoin their family multiple times.
A child whose parents were deported would eventually fall into foster care til theyre 18 as their able bodied parents are living far away heartbroken that they were taken away from their child. In prioritizing those who should be deported, deport felons, not families.
People should not be denied service for being a certain religion. This is huge step back for our Nation and it is teaching the young people of America to discriminate. Religion is just as important to people as race is, so why do we discriminate against it?
I am a Christain and I guarantee that it is not our teaching to refuse any human being. This is a Christain driven country so we should not twist the constitution to fit this law. It is unconstitutional because all men are equal and have the freedom of their religion. This law is telling all religious people that it is right to clash with other religions. This will help trigger the conflict that is already starting up between religious groups. As a country we should be coming together and not condoning behavior that leads to hatred.
As a religious person I believe that all religions are unique, but should not be feuded against each other. I hope you see all the ramifications that this law will cause and consider revoking this law.
Dear Robert J. Bentley (Governor of Alabama),
After watching the documentary set in Montgomery Alabama "Southern Rites" I noticed that the racism in elections is still very prevalent. A man with over 30 years of police experience ran for sheriff against a man with little to no experience in the police force. It was an obvious decision as to who was the more qualified choice. However, the man with over 30 years of police experience was African-American, while the other man was white. To my surprise the man with no experience what-so-ever, won the election as the sheriff. I thought that this was disappointing to see that people in our country and still voting based off of the color of someone's skin. Something needs to be done about this unnecessary prejudice towards more qualified officials. I also would like to influence the people of these southern states that race has nothing to with how qualified someone is for a government job.
Best Regards,
-Tate Lines
I am currently a senior at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California and am set to graduate next week. DUring the duration of my senior year, I partook in a class titles Contemporary World Affairs, a class where we discuss current political and socioeconomic situations from around the world. During this class, I have begun to realize the growing problems of the world with inequality, famine, poverty, injustice, and a long list of violations of basic human rights. One specific international dilemma that seems to resurface consistently is the situation with North Korea. Time and time again, the horrible, atrocious stories of labor/political prison camps plague the news with various forms of torture, mass executions, and the grotesque violation of the utmost basic of human rights. So my question to you, a potential 2016 United States President, is how would you deal with the smallest yet most isolated nation in the world? What specific steps would you take to deal with this growing problem?
Thank you, Byung Ho Michael Kim
-- Edited by [what] on Thursday 4th of June 2015 06:09:40 PM
I am a senior attending a high school in Placentia, California. I am writing you to urge that you review the military ban on transgender troops and policies that would allow them to serve openly. The current policies allow discrimination towards transgender troops that the Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision describe as a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Medical and Military experts who have studied the policies concluded that there is no rationale for disqualifying transgender troops from serving on medical grounds. The type of medical care most transgenders need are fairly basic and should not preclude them from being deployed. The military should be focused on attracting the most qualified people and discriminating against transgenders is preventing that from happening. These policies cause some transgenders to not volunteer their service the military and cause severe emotional distress to those who do volunteer. Please do not force these transgender troops to suffer in silence.
To Ed Royce,
Besides the fortunate prospering people in America, there are some that try and survive each day. No one will hire them, they are mentally ill, and they have no where to go. I feel these people are in major need of help. They need to be given a second chance and we need to help them get back on their feet. We could help them by supplying them with water, food, clothing, and shelter. Some may even need help in a mental hospital since maybe they have been in a tragedy.
The United States of America was founded with the goal in mind to create a nation of equality for all. Unfortunately, as the decades have stretched on, we as Americans have lived our lives, formed our policies, and acted upon our feelings with equality as the furthest thing from our minds. Belief in racial superiority and tradition have torn at the seams of this great nation for too long. Equality has been denied for too long, and its time to change.
Racial equality was promised just 51 short years ago within the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, to this day, there are still high schools who are having segregated proms. The promises made to African Americans and racial minorities have been anything but upheld, as evidence of racism and forced segregation plaster our news sources daily, yet little appears to be happening in response. Currently, 26% of our police force in America admits to engaging with a civilian purely based upon their race, 70% of our prisons are inhabited by African Americans, and 26.6% of African Americans are living in poverty. African Americans make up 13.2% of our population, yet we as a nation continue to usurp ourselves over these American citizens, easily terming them ¨thugs¨ and üneducated; some still even opting for ¨n******¨. Although our government has done äll they can¨, we as a society often appear to still be living in 1860, bearing our ¨stars and bars¨ or our Union flags, gearing up for the bloodiest war in American history. With the recent injustices done upon our Americans by justice enforces has reignited the fire that once blazed across this country in the 1960s. A fire fueled by centuries of oppression, degradation, and social outcasting. As cities such as Baltimore and Ferguson has erupted into flames, its not hard for one who has actually read a history textbook to see history repeating itself. Too long have the injustices against fellow Americans been cast aside as mere bitterness, and as a nation we have failed to realize the real damage we have inflicted through our ever present racist ways.
Beyond racial inequality, sexual inequality has gripped this nation for far too long. Once illegal to be homosexual, this nation has still not recognized homosexulity as a ¨valid¨ lifestyle; nor blessed homosexuals with the same rights as heterosexuals have enjoyed for decades. To this day, same sex couple still do not have the right to be joyfully joined in holy matrimony, but in many states are still inexcusably shunned into hiding and shame for being who they are. Because of our ¨Christian roots¨, states have been able to get away with legally enforced bans on the union of same sex couples because it will tear apart the foundations of this great nation. Although no studies have been able to find any adverse effects on this nation from allowing same sex marriage, Americans continue to hold their Bibles clutched to their hearts, and their eyes shut to the rights of others. Matthew Shepard was a 22 year old college student who was beaten, tied to the back of a pick up, dragged for miles, and left to die in 1998-because he was homosexual. However, because the Bible contains one verse ¨condemning¨ homosexuality, our nation has bred generations of citizens who believe in the condemnation, and even some the eradication, of homosexuality. Not much unlike the Civil Rights movement of racial minorities, the Gay Rights movement, led by the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) movement have skyrocketed in the past ten years as tensions have grown between supporters and condemners. This too, shall be a fight that Americans will not give up on any time soon, until all citizens rights are fulfilled.
¨We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.¨ Written in 1776, these hallowed words have been granted to many, but denied to too many for far too long. Its time we Americans begin to uphold the true foundations of our nation and grant equality to all, ¨under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
Dear Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Mayor of baltimore City)
I think it would be wise to implement a law that requires your police officers to wear body cameras while on duty. As you know, credibility continues to be an increasing issue concerning police departments. Equipping police officers with body cameras is the only way to ensure trust into the people of Baltimore. There probably wouldnt have been riots if those police men had worn body cameras. It probably would have saved the lives of Freddie Gray and others like Michael Brown in Ferguson. If cops are doing their jobs correctly and use police force appropriately, they shouldnt be worried or feel uncomfortable wearing a body camera. Please take my suggestion into consideration, it could prevent more incidents like this involving police brutality.
I am a junior in high school and college is imminent. I plan to go to a private university to achieve my goals as a filmmaker. Along with numerous amounts of students their pockets aren't filled with hundreds ready to give away to their education, if they did as well as my self I would be ready to spend it all on my education. A small portion of students ready to go to college have the finances from their parents to pay for schooling. Education is the future to an efficient and happy life. I also believe the more educated people are the better we live together globally and excel among one another. Without the means to pay for college and many being denied financial aid and loans that puts a damper on the human educational welfare as well as the lives as many individuals goals. I ask for an extreme change to make college more affordable and accessible to help those who are eager to learn, strive, and make the world a better place. We cannot succeed without education.
I am a senior at El Dorado High School. I encourage your support for the State Water Resources Control Boards, which will enact drought related regulations. In my World Affairs class we did a project on water conservation and came up with various ways to save water. Our small group has implemented this into our lives and has saved a vast amount of water. I believe water scarcity is a growing problem which we can take steps to prevent. Your support would make a great difference. We can save the world one drop at a time.
Dear Phillip Morris USA, I believe that the sale and usage of tobacco should be illegal due to the many health risks associated with it. According to statistics, there are said to be 1.1 billion tobacco users in the world and that is expected to increase to 1.6 over the next two decades. Due to the addiction to tobacco poverty and development is impacted . The poorer cities continue to get more poor because about 30% of the income that the poor people receive goes to being spent on cigarettes. Not only are the first hand consumers affected but so are second hand consumers. Second hand smoke has also affected many people. Study shows that under 11% of the world's population are protected by comprehensive national smoke free laws. About 100 million people died from tobacco related diseases in the 20th century. I think the sooner there is a solution for this , the world would be a lot more protected and in better hands.
